By
GREGORY N. HEIRES
DC 37 leaders presented the unions budget
and legislative priorities to the citys top political leaders at a breakfast
meeting on February 26.
City Council Speaker Gifford Miller and over
20 local legislators and legislative aides attended the annual District Council
37 City Council Legislative Breakfast at union headquarters. They met with the
unions elected officers, local presidents and political activists.
The union and council leaders agreed to work together to help address the citys
fiscal crisis by fighting for additional revenue. The city faces a budget gap
projected at almost $4 billion in fiscal year 2004, which begins July 1.
We have put forth a legislative agenda that not only helps our members but
also makes sense for the city as a whole, DC 37 Executive Director Lillian
Roberts told the visiting City Council members.
Whether its
keeping open the doors of our most cherished cultural institutions and public
libraries or ensuring access to quality health care services for the most vulnerable
New Yorkers, we share a deep commitment to social and economic justice,
Ms. Roberts said. Working together, we can get past this dark moment, but
we must use all of our skills and energy to do so.
City Councils
Fair Share campaign
Mr. Miller asked for DC 37 to support
the councils Fair Share campaign to lobby for more state and
federal funds. The campaign aims to draw public attention to the fact that the
city provides Albany and Washington, D.C., with much more in revenue than it receives
in state and federal assistance.
DC 37 and the City Council constitute
a very powerful partnership that is committed to fighting for the community and
union members, said Wanda Williams, director of the DC 37 Political Action
and Legislation Dept. Ms. Roberts discussed the unions effort to publicize
how the city wastes millions of dollars by contracting out the work of civil servants.
The union provided the council members with copies of DC 37s three white
papers on government waste and contracting out. Several council members signed
a union petition that calls upon Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg to establish a commission
on contracting out, waste and inefficiency.
Ms. Roberts also discussed
the unions local and statewide legislative and public policy priorities.
At home, the union is pushing to restore budget cuts and pass legislation promoting
educational opportunities for welfare recipients, provide forms and services in
languages other than English at health and human services agencies and extend
rights to gay and lesbian partners in domestic relationships.
At
the state level, the union supports:
- improved
funding for Medicare and the Health and Hospitals Corp.
- commuter
and stock transfer taxes
- a property tax
on absentee landlords
- rent regulation renewal
and vacancy decontrol
- an increase in federal
revenues to the city and state, and
- restorations
to the state budget.
Union leaders and activists
backed the City Councils Fair Share campaign.
Just last year,
New York City sent Washington $6.3 billion more than we got back, and we sent
Albany $3.5 billion more than we got back, Mr. Miller said. Simply
put, we pay more than our fair share and we get back less than our fair share,
Mr. Miller said. This has been going on for decades. It costs our city jobs
and growth, and it is making it far more difficult for us to recover from our
economic crisis.
Ms. Williams described the meeting as an invaluable
opportunity for the union and council to map out a strategy for resolving the
citys fiscal crisis while protecting vital services. DC 37 and the
City Council constitute a very powerful partnership that is committed to fighting
for the community and union members, said Ms. Williams. As the budget
situation heats up, we will be working very closely together to protect the essential
services provided by our members.